Linderhof Palace and Neuschwanstein Castle

Once again, the breakfast at Eden Hotel Wolff was outstanding. The breads, cheeses, breakfast meats, cereals and juices have been excellent, and the dining experience was elegant. We chatted briefly with two ladies visiting Germany for the first time from Virginia. They were very pleasant and interested in our experiences here.

At Linderhof Palace

We left the hotel early to meet the bus to Hohenschwangau at 9 am. We caught the rail at the Hbf which is across the street from our hotel and took a train to Marienplatz in Munich’s Altstadt. We walked the short distance to the bus and checked in with the tour leader. The bus was nearly full with visitors from the UK, Australia, US, Japan and within Germany. The tour was in English, but headphones were available for those needing another language. The tour guide, Gerta, gave us a lot of information on the area as well as about Ludwig II and his family. The two-hour bus ride from Munich to Linderhof went quickly. We drove the small village of Oberammergau that has performed a passion play every ten years since 1633. When the black plague threatened to wipe out the small village, the people there prayed promising to always perform a passion play every 10 years if the village were spared from the plague. To play a role in the play, actors must have been born in the village or lived there for a minimum of 20 years.

Linderhof Palace from the rear

There was rain off and on as we approached Linderhof Palace. However, the previous times we had visited here were all in very deep snow. Some snow lingered at the higher elevations in the surrounding mountains but nothing like when we were here in the past. After putting on raincoats, we took a few snapshots of the beautifully landscaped grounds around Linderhof Palace as we waited for our entry time.

Our guide through the palace was very knowledgeable and shared information about King Ludwig II and his eccentricities. His English was not perfect but was understandable. The king lived in the palace for several years before and during his reign. Linderhof is not as large as homes of many monarchs, but the interior is exquisite. Rooms have intricate wood carvings, most of which are covered with gold. Custom porcelain figurines are throughout the palace and weaving depicting events from folk tales, Wagner operas or historical events hang on the walls. One of the most interesting pieces was the dining table. King Ludwig II was so peculiar that he didn’t want anyone to see him eating. To solve the problem, a table was built that could be lowered to the servant's area to have the meals placed then raised for the king's dinner. Perhaps the only negative to our visit is that photographs are not permitted inside the palace. However, we took many pictures outside. Peter was very interested in the palace as well as "Mad" King Ludwig II and wished that he could have photographed more inside the palace.  As we left the palace, we purchased a small informational book for Peter at the gift shop that includes photos and descriptions of the inside of the palace as well as the grounds.

Peter's Schnitzel und Pommes

We boarded our bus again and drove the 40 minutes to Hohenschwangau where we would tour Castle Neuschwanstein. By then it was after 1 pm and we were getting hungry, so we went to Alpenstuben for lunch. This restaurant was recommended by Gerta for large portions of well-prepared food at fair prices. I had a local lager, Peter had orange juice and Mary had Apfelchorle which is a mix of apple juice and sparkling mineral water. For our meals, Peter had a Wiener Schnitzel with fries, Mary had goulash made with venison from red deer and I had Kasespatzle with cheese made in the Bavarian Alps. We all enjoyed our meals and shared bites of each other’s lunch, but Mary’s goulash was the favorite of everyone. The venison was very tender and flavorful. Peter was especially fond of the goulash and was interested in trying everything.  

Castle Neuschwanstein

After lunch, we stopped by some of the gift shops in the village of Hohenschwangau to look for souvenirs for Peter. Since he lost his water bottle in one of the museums we visited earlier in the week, he found a bottle with the FC Bayern logo which pleased him. He also got two snow globes for himself and Nicholas with Castle Neuschwanstein. He all got some postcards to send to family back home. Peter was especially happy to find a lenticular postcard showing a goldfish jumping in and out of a bowl that he thought Nicholas might enjoy.  We thought that it was very thoughtful of him to want to get appropriate gifts for his brother on the trip.

Peter and Oma at Castle Neuschwanstein

There are three primary options for getting up the mountain from the village of Hohenschwangau to Castle Neuschwanstein. The only way that we have ever taken up the mountain in previous trips is to walk up the mountain which takes about 40 minutes. Of course, there was heavy snow on the ground in all of our previous visits. A second option is the horse drawn carriage that takes about 20 minutes but only goes about 2/3 of the way to the castle. The third option is a bus that goes to Marienbrucke (Mary’s Bridge) a short distance from the castle. We had never been to the bridge, so we decided on that option.

The bridge was very crowded and looked over a very deep gorge. We walked out on the bridge and took a few snapshots, but neither Mary nor Peter are especially fond of heights on shaky platforms. We walked over to the castle taking a few photos as we walked and stood on the road just outside the castle chatting with other visitors from our bus. I especially enjoyed talking with a gentleman from Costa Rica who now lives in New Jersey working as a chemist for Colgate-Palmolive. Since our tickets were for a 4:10 pm tour we didn’t go through the gate until nearly 4 pm. A board posted the tour times that were boarding with groups leaving every five minutes.

Village of Hohenschwangau

Our guide at the castle was very good, although the group was large. Her English was quite good and she communicated the information and stories of the castle and King Ludwig II very well. As with Linderhof Palace, photographs are not permitted in Castle Neuschwanstein. The interior of the castle is not as lavish as Linderhof, but was certainly lavish. Ludwig wanted the castle to appear as a Medieval castle even though it was not built until 1886. In fact, King Ludwig II died young under mysterious circumstances before the castle was completed and never lived in the castle. Two weeks after the death of the King, the castle was purchased by the Bavarian Bundestag and used as a tourist attraction. Additions, improvements and renovations have been made to the structure in the 160 years since the death of the king.

Horse drawn carriage in the village

After the tour, we walked down the mountain then revisited the gift shops in the small village where Peter pressed an image of Castle Neuschwanstein into a 5-cent coin. We made our way onto the bus in Hohenschwangau and began the two-hour drive back to Marienplatz in Munich. Peter was hungry when we arrived at the Munich Hof so we went to one of the food vendors in the train station and bought a bratwurst and brotchen (roll) for him. The wurst was over a foot long and stuck out well beyond the roll on both ends. Much to our surprise, he really liked it. The vendor provided two small ketchup packets that were traditional tomato ketchup rather than the curry ketchup that has become so common in Germany.

Before turning in we played a few games of Farkle with Peter then turned in and slept well.

Exploring Munich's Altstadt

Breakfast at Eden Hotel Wolff

Mary and I awoke around 7 am after sleeping very well. That is not surprising after getting very little sleep on the flight to Heathrow on a Sunday night. We eventually got Peter moving by 9 am and made our way to the first floor of the Eden Hotel Wolff for the buffet breakfast. Since the flights had been so long, we didn't want to push Peter but when he awoke, he was ready to get breakfast and begin exploring Munich. Like the breakfast at most German hotels, the food quality and variety were outstanding. There were dozens of whole grain breads and pastries, three kinds of breakfast wurst, bacon and other breakfast meats, several cheeses, eggs, a dozen cold cereals, fresh fruit, yogurt and fresh squeezed fruit juice of every kind. My favorite has the be the various fruit preserves. The Himmelbeere (raspberry jam) was very good, but the sour cherry jam (Kirschkonfitüre) was outstanding. Peter raved on the breakfast and enjoyed a little of everything. We were very very impressed that he was willing to try things before he passed judgment. We all ate enough to carry us through to dinner.

Inside St. Peter's Church

We returned to the room, gathered cameras, maps, passes and water bottles and put our valuables in the room safe before leaving the hotel. The travel agent had left a Mehrtageskarte for us that got the three of us into nearly all of the historic attractions in the Munich area. We took the U-Bahn the short distance to Marienplatz in Munich’s Altstadt. We started our visit at St. Peter’s Church that was built in the 12th Century. The church is beautiful and contains so many ancient artifacts. I am always impressed how the US and Allied military was able to bomb German cities in two world wars and was so caring to do so little damage to historic churches. We walked up the 300 plus stairs to the top of the tower attached to St. Peter’s. The tower dates to the 1100s and is still structurally sound. We took a lot of photos from the top of the tower before descending and continued our walk through the old part of Munich. Before we left the church, Peter bought a refrigerator magnet with St. Peter's Church.

Peter outside the Munich Rathaus

We went through the market and saw many produce stands selling the white asparagus that is popular in Germany now that it is Spargelzeit. We walked the short distance to the Bavarian Royal Residenz where the emperor lived from 1508 until after WWII in 1918. The core of the Residenz was built as a fortress called Neuveste in 1385. The Bavarian rulers from the House of Wittelsbach lived in this complex during the 400 year period. The Royal Residenz has been open to the public as a museum since 1920. Much rebuilding has taken place following severe damage during WWII.

Peter in the Bavarian Royal Residence

We have visited here several times and enjoy it more each time. The structure was nearly completely destroyed in the war but has been beautifully rebuilt, restored and redecorated. We all took a lot of photos throughout the expansive building. Peter was especially amused taking photos of his face with his new camera.

We walked back to the Marienplatz train station in time to see the animated clock strike noon then and caught a light rail to Olympiazentrum where we would have a short walk to the BMW museum. We used the timed passes to the BMW museum that we had purchased online and were directed to a locker room where we stowed backpacks and other personal items. The museum was really interesting with restored BMW cars and motorcycles going back to the 1920s. There were rooms with cutaway engines from cars, motorcycles, boats, aircraft and military equipment. We all enjoyed the restored BMW convertible that was used in several Elvis Presley movies. 

1939 BMW Kamm Coupe

We liked a convertible roadster from the 1930s and a three-wheeled miniature car that the driver entered by opening the front of the vehicle. There were lots of interactive displays where visitors could photograph themselves in BMW ads or driving a vintage car. There was a room dedicated to the forced laborers in BMW factories in the 1930s and 40s during the Third Reich. During a labor shortage people were compelled to work in factories for little compensation in difficult and dangerous working conditions. After we visited all of the 22 exhibit rooms we walked across to the BMW World building. 

Peter & Oma with a 1953 BMW Isetta Knutschkugel

This large building had many BMW models on display including lots of prototypes and concept cars. Since BMW partners with Rolls Royce and Mini, there were models from those manufacturers on display as well. Since BMW World is free and doesn’t require a timed entry ticket, there were many more people there than at the BMW Museum. We walked through the displays and took a few snapshots before walking to the light rain station and returning to the Hauptbahnhof where we picked up burgers and fries from a stand in the train station. There wasn’t a huge selection at Pommes Freunde, but we brought the food back to the Eden Hotel Wolff.  We ate in the room then played three games of Farkel with each of us winning one game. We turned in and slept well.

Flying to Germany by way of London

Lunch at Heathrow Airport

By the time we awoke, we were near Ireland with two hours to London. The flight attendants distributed breakfast burritos and beverages. Peter didn’t want breakfast, so we watched in-flight movies until we landed at Heathrow. We had to go through security again at Heathrow but had no issues. Since the breakfast burrito didn’t appeal to Peter, we needed to find something that he would eat for breakfast, easier said than done. We walked by every restaurant at Heathrow airport and found nothing to his liking. Mary took him to a small market in the airport where she bought a yogurt and granola cup that Peter said was nasty, so he threw it out. He said that a ham sandwich might be good, so we tried that. Mary took the cheese off his sandwich as he requested but a small amount of mayonnaise remained and he didn’t want to eat it. On the other half of the sandwich, we removed the cheese and managed to avoid the offensive mayo, so he was able to eat that.

We had to laugh that Buffalo Trace has a large presence in London. There was a Buffalo Trace booth in the Heathrow airport. I walked by the booth and an employee asked if I would like a sample taste of Buffalo Trace, but I assured him that I had tasted it before.

The flight from London to Munich boarded quickly, and we took off for the two-hour flight. We were seated together on this flight and read our devices for the short flight. On landing at Munich International Airport, our bags were among the first to arrive in the baggage carousel. Peter spotted our bags quickly and grabbed them from the belt. We took a light rail from the Munich airport to the Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station) using the travel vouchers that we received from the travel agent.

Our hotel, the Eden Hotel Wolff, was a short two block walk from the train station. When we arrived at 4 pm the helpful desk clerk got us checked in and gave us additional vouchers for attractions in Munich like the Royal Residence, Nymphenburg Palace and others as well as vouchers for light rail, subway and bus transport in the city for the days we would be in Munich. As with other trips that we have taken with to-europe.com, this hotel is perfectly located for access to many of the places we plan to visit as well as the train station.

Dinner at Augustiner-Keller Biergarten

Our third floor room at the Eden Hotel Wolff was very nice with a king-sized bed and a sofa bed. We unpacked and considered our choices for dinner. The desk clerk said that many locals eat at Augustiner Keller Biergarten only a few blocks from the hotel, so we agreed to give it a try.

Most of the tables were out in a beautiful tree lined courtyard, and we were seated immediately despite the restaurant appearing to be crowded. Our waiter had some knowledge of English, but since we had spoken with him in German, gave us German menus. We were doing fine with the German menus, but Mary wanted to confirm our choices with an English menu that the waiter offered. Peter had the Weiner Schnitzel, I had the cordon bleu and Mary had Kaesespaetzle topped with onion straws. Substituting is not generally permitted in German restaurants, so I traded my French fries for Peter’s fried potatoes. We were really proud of Peter for his willingness to try German foods to see if he would like them.  Mary had sparkling water, Peter had lemonade, and I had a local bock beer. Everyone enjoyed the meal, although the portions were very large. Peter was able to eat only one of the large schnitzels with his meal. The meal was not fast but in much of Europe meals at a restaurant are not intended to be rushed. While eating, diners socialize and enjoy the company of friends and family.

Dinner at Augustiner-Keller Biergarten

As light faded, we walked back to the Eden Hotel Wolff, showered and prepared for bed. We were all tired from two days of stressful travel. We had a busy few days lined up with a visit to Munich’s Altstadt in the morning and the afternoon at the BMW Museum and BMW World near the Olympic Center, site of the 1972 massacre by the militant Palestinian organization, Black September during the summer Olympics.